Corn-popper.



f 'UNITED sTATEs CALVIN O. FOUTS, OF MIDDLETOWN, OHIO.

CORN-POPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1906 Application filed April 9, 1906. .Serial No. 310,639.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CALviN C. Fours, a citizen of the United States, residing at Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Poppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention will be readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a corn-popper embodying an exemplification of my improve'- ment, the cover being removed; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of the structure and Fig. 3,- a transverse section of a portion of the structure, illustrating the sliding joint between the cover and the vessel.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the popper vessel, formed with imperforate walls and being in the example of rectangular plan, 2, the imperforate floor of the vessel; 3, slopes of the floor leading inwardly from all directions to form a central de ression constituting the hottest part of the oor; 4, shallow grooves in the upper surface of the floor, these grooves radiating from the depressed central portion of the floor; 5, the lforaminous movable cover of the vessel, the same being illustrated as having its side margins clipping under the wire tops of the lside walls of the vessel, so as to open and close by sliding motion; 6, a stop ,projecting from the under surface of the cover down into the vessel and adapted to limit the opening motion of the cover as it is slid in eitherdirection; 7, a handle proj ecting from the vessel to serve in supporting and shaking it, and 8 a handle-ring on the cover.

The. foraminous cover of the vessel may l best be formed of wire-cloth, preferably of mesh as fine asis consistent with a satisfactory inspection of the interior of the vessel. The wiring of the tops of the side walls of the vessel in conjunction with margin-pieces for the cover to have a sliding engagement with the wiring, will be found to form a very satisfactory cover arrangement.

The central depression in the floor of the vessel causes the seasoning to concentrate at that'point and become sub'ected to the highest heat, due to the centraiA rotrusion of the under surface of the floor. s the explosions take place the seasoning is violently thrown into and sometimes through the superincumbent corn, the imperforate sides of the vessel preventing any escape whatever sidewise and the cover, while foraminous, preventing any material escape in an upward direction. The shaking of the popper causes the seasoning, or such of it as is not absorbed by the corn, to 'find its way again to the floor of the vessel,

'the transverse shaking of the floor causing the seasoning to again return to the highlyheated central depression.

The sloping'radial Vrooves 4 serve a triple urpose: First, they orm channels for guiding the seasoning promptly to the hot central depression of the floor of the vessel; second, they serve to catch upon the underlying grams of the mass of corn and bring about a livelier agitation of the mass than would be the case if the grains were entirely free for sliding motion over the smooth floor, and, third, they stiffen the ioor of the vessel and serve in a great measure in preventing it from being dented upwardly, thus preserving the A depression of the floor.

I claiml. A corn-popper comprising a vessel having imperforate walls and floor, a shakinghandle therefor, and a foraminous cover for.

the vessel, the floor of the vessel being centrally depressed and provided with radiating grooves, whereby shaking motion of the vessel tends to concentrate the seasoning at a.

specially-hot central point and whereby the floor is given a grip upon the grains lying upon it, substantially as set forth.

2. A corn-popper comprising a vessel, a shaking-handle therefor, and a foraminous cover disposed in sliding engagement therewith, the floor of thevessel being provided with a series of downwardly and centrally radiating troughs forming a central depression in the floor.

^ CALVIN C. FOUTS. Witnesses:

R..R. WILLIAMSON, JAMES C. RUSSELL. 

